Matthew 25: 1Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
At a Jewish wedding the groom would go to the bride’s house on the wedding day. They would be married and then go to the groom’s house for a feast. These 10 virgins were waiting for the parade from the bride’s home to the groom’s home so they could tag along and go to the feast. Ten is a symbolic number in the Bible and was used several times. There were 10 commandments, talents, pieces of silver, servants, cities, males to form a synagogue, for funeral procession. These virgins represent people of all the ages, past, present and future. Don’t take it that there will be an equal number of people saved and lost. The Bible says the road to destruction is wide and many are on it while the road to heaven is straight and narrow and few are on it. More people wind up in hell than go to heaven. Nobody has to go to hell. Everyone can go to heaven if they receive Christ. All people are included in the plan of redemption. Anyone can be saved.
Five virgins are called foolish and five wise. Why? All went to meet the bride groom. All took lamps. All took oil for their lamp. All slumbered and slept. All arose at the same time. All trimmed their lamp. Why were five foolish and five wise? The wise prepared themselves by bringing extra oil. The foolish took none; they did not have adequate provisions. The bride groom delayed, but at midnight the announcement came that he was coming. They arose to meet him. The five foolish asked to borrow oil from the other five. They said no unless they didn’t have enough for themselves. We will not go to heaven on a family plan. We won’t go because granny’s going. Every person must give account before God. Each has to personally accept Jesus Christ. While the foolish virgins went for oil, the bridegroom came. The five wise virgins went in and then the door was shut. There will be a day when the door of salvation will be shut. The five foolish ones returned and asked for admittance. It was refused with the statement I know you not. The challenge comes in verse 13: Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. Could Jesus come today? He could. At any moment he could step out on the cloud, the trumpet could sound and the dead in Christ would rise and then we’d be caught up with them to meet the Lord in the air. Be praying “even so, come Lord Jesus.”
The coming of Jesus is sudden, without warning. The Bible says it will be like a thief in the night. Is he coming to steal something? No. If I go to my house and get something I haven’t stolen it. It’s mine. Jesus can take us because we’re his. To the world it will be as a thief in the night. If you know when a thief is coming you’ll be prepared. But we don’t know. Statistics tell us that most robberies occur in the early morning hours when they expect the homeowners to be sound asleep. Jesus won’t call for an appointment to come. If you know you’re going to have company you clean up the house. But since we don’t know, we need to keep our spiritual house clean because he has told us he’s coming. Look up. If people knew, they’d be ready. He could come today. Our redemption will come to completion.
They made preparations, but made them too late. They followed the advice of the wise, but it was too late. Noah preached 120 years and nobody listened. It had never rained, but Noah believed God and built the ark. He and his family went in and God shut the door. The rains came. People believed but it was too late. The rich man in hell cried for mercy but it was too late. The decision regarding eternity is made in this life. Why do people put off salvation? Worldly entanglements keep spiritual matters unimportant. They are having too much fun. Their job gives them no time for church and God. One day those people will wish they had one more chance. Some refuse because of family influences. Some don’t believe they’re lost. We cannot get people saved until they know they’re lost. They live like the devil and still think they’re right with God. Some say that because they’ve had it so bad in this life that surely they’ll go to heaven. It won’t be like that. Some say “God and I have it all worked out.” If it’s not worked out according to the Bible, then he/she won’t make it to heaven. Some think God cannot save them. They’ve done too much wrong or something too bad for God to forgive. He reached below the bottom to get me. He forgave a woman caught in the very act of adultery. He forgave the Samaritan woman who’d had five husbands and was living with a man at the time. He saved Zacchaeus, a hated tax collector. He climbed a tree so he could see Jesus. Jesus stopped right at him, told him to come down because he was going home with him. I’m so glad he not only saved me; he went home with me. Other people just don’t believe Jesus is coming again. Mark it down. He is. Others are waiting for personal convenience. They will get saved when it’s a convenient time. Felix told Paul to go away and at a more convenient season he’d call for him again. It’s not recorded in the Bible that it ever happened. The season to be saved is now.
The time to prepare is now. People prepare for everything except meeting God. They plan great, elaborate weddings. They plan vacations making all the necessary routes, reservations and money planning. They prepare for elections and athletics. We buy all sorts of insurance–home, car, cancer, life. It’s all to plan for what we don’t know. Yet many do not plan for eternity. They are prepared for many things but not for meeting God. The Bible says not to boast about tomorrow because we don’t know what it will bring. Tomorrow will run out one day. What you plan to do, you’d better do today.
The Holy Spirit brings conviction. Without him, everything I do is fruitless. He’s calling today for you to consider your eternal destination. You’ll be somewhere forever. You won’t cease to exist. You’ll either be in heaven because you’re a Christian or in a far worse place called hell because you refused Jesus. Make the decision today to follow Jesus.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 